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Defense claims passenger 'antics' led to Effingham County deadly wreck

Stone Pool Photo
Robert Patrick Stone listens to testimony during the first day of his trial on homicide by vehicle in Effingham County Superior Court.

A survivor of a deadly Effingham County accident testified in Superior Court on Thursday that the driver of the car was “driving crazy” before the wreck in 2010.

Lindsay Morgan Buchanan, 17 at the time of the accident, was the fourth witness of the day in the trial of the driver, Robert Patrick Stone. Stone is charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle, three counts of serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving and weaving over roadway.

Whitney Jade Newman, 17, died at the scene of the June 27, 2010, crash and William Neal Morgan, 17, died in a hospital three days later from injuries received in the wreck.

Stone was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Tracker on Stillwell-Clyo Road with five passengers when he lost control of the vehicle. The car went off the right side of the road, crossed the roadway and back again, then flipped several times, ejecting everyone in the car.

Buchanan told jurors that Stone and Morgan were giving Buchanan and the other three girls a ride from a party to a river house when the accident occurred about 2:45 a.m.

“(Stone) was weaving and laughing at us when we asked him to stop,” Buchanan said. “All of us were freaking out.”

Buchanan said she had a “couple of beers” before getting in the car with Stone. She also said Morgan was drunk.

“(Morgan) was acting a little wild,” she said.

Defense attorney Michael Classens told jurors in his opening statement that Stone lost control while dealing with Morgan’s “antics.”

“Robbie had one hand on the wheel and he reached out (with his other hand) to keep Morgan from falling from the car,” Classens said.

Classens also told jurors that Morgan touched the steering wheel and Stone felt the car “jerk.”

Buchanan said during direct examination by prosecutor Brian Deal that Morgan was hanging out the window but she couldn’t remember whether he touched the steering wheel.

Buchanan testified that Stone drove erratically the entire time.

During cross-examination by Classens, Buchanan said Morgan was “on the windshield” at one point.

Buchanan suffered several injuries, including three broken ribs and a broken collarbone. She said she could not remember the accident itself or her time in the hospital.

Georgia State Patrol Trooper Joseph Mock, the first trooper on the accident scene, testified he spoke with Stone while he was in an ambulance that night.

Mock said when Stone started telling him that a passenger had jerked the wheel, another passenger, also in the ambulance, began shaking her head no.

Kristin Westenbarger, who was then 16, told Mock, he said, that Stone was the one who was jerking the steering wheel back and forth.

Westenbarger suffered deep abrasions on her right shoulder and hand in the accident

Cpl. Craig Smith with the Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team testified he made the decision to charge Stone.

“It was obvious the driver failed to maintain lane,” Smith testified.

Smith said witness statements indicated behavior of the driver that could be reckless.

Smith also testified that alcohol and drug tests on Stone were negative.

Testimony will resume this morning with another passenger from the accident, Amanda Duff, expected to be the first witness. The trial should conclude today.